Raising Reputation
by QuiteQuiet
Summary: Vanessa's an Alpha. Beautiful, caring, and interesting, she campaigns to help a trio of misfits with their lives and a competition. Over time they start to wonder if she's interfering. But someone this nice can't be shallow….right? / Modern Disney crossover. Contains Elsanna; non-incest. [Trigger Warnings: Student-teacher relationship, manipulation, femslash, possible violence]
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Hey all, decided to try taking a shot at a modern AU. It's bound to be interesting, given the ideas I have and the fact that I have to work at making the characters, in-character when the "Peanut Gallery" especially is pointedly OOC in some aspects. I don't have a direct trajectory for this story and haven't worked out everything about the characters, but hopefully things will work themselves out as they go along.**_

_**This isn't a particularly happy story, and contains themes that make some people uncomfortable. I'll give warnings whenever "Student-teacher relationship" is present in an update. The student is 18, but it's still portrayed as an issue. Other than that, I think the pre-fanfiction drabble is about done. Oh, and I don't own any characters.**_

_**UPDATE 5/25: Just wanted to clarify Elsanna isn't the student-teacher relationship. They're both students.**_

* * *

The afternoon slump started early. Students dropped like flies. Some counted the flies. Some stared with a dull gaze at the windows, which in their minds should have been closed since it was November and the chill was unrelenting. The sounds of traffic and arguing delinquents waved in, making focus on the teacher even less existent.

"And so, by the end of the novel both characters have made it out of the dystopian community." Her voice was fat and nasally, carrying an almost naturally pompous tone. "There is a great meaning in their escape, one as meaningful as the tragic ending of our Orwellian unit. This author, however, chose to propel her characters to a successful ending, one that brings hope to the series of ravaged landscapes in literature."

"Hah," called someone from the back row. "GAYYYYYYYY."

"Thank you, Merida," the teacher replied without turning around. "I'm glad those reruns are at least teaching you to memorize lines."

Merida crossed her arms in satisfaction and leaned back in her chair. Her other friends were paying attention, barely.

Anna Arendelle shifted between listening to the teacher and following the clock as it inched toward freedom. She fiddled with a braid as she thought about lunch. _Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock_

"Before going into an analysis of literary devices, we're going to compare the two novels." The teacher's voice cut her back to reality. She watched the round woman pick up a whiteboard marker. "Now then," as she uncapped it, "besides the dystopian theme and the contrasting endings, what do these novels have in common?"

"Ooh!" A brunette with a choppy haircut waved her hand. Anna and Merida looked at each other smugly.

"Yes, Rapunzel?"

"Um…both novels have male and female characters?" said the brunette. "Who become friends and secretly depend on each other?"

"I'm glad to know you participated in the reading, Rapunzel," the teacher said without an ounce of sincerity. She began writing on the whiteboard.

"I got it on SparkNotes," Rapunzel muttered, and the others covered their mouths to hold back their snorts.

"I heard that, Rapunzel," said the teacher. Rapunzel cringed. "Any other snippets from the Peanut Gallery? Anna?"

"No, Mrs. Wanda," said Anna quickly.

They began whispering when the teacher had her back turned. "SparkNotes?" said Merida. "Lass, even I could make the connection between a man and a woman being friends."

"I had to use SparkNotes to save time!" Rapunzel protested. "You know, since I had to work on chemistry and pre-cal and history and German…" Anna made eye contact with Merida and shook her head. They left Rapunzel alone.

As the lesson continued, the slump got worse. Rapunzel gave up on following Mrs. Wanda and was ten minutes into sketching the figure of the Chinese dragon on one of the cabinets in the room. "Three feet of red sculptured beauty," Merida said under the drones of its owner. "Cooped up in a place such as this. We should rescue it."

"If you toss it to me I might drop it," said Anna through her teeth. "And that'd be a shame."

"Maybe it's her long-lost son," said Merida. She drew her hands apart in faraway speculation. "A dragon boy for the dragon lady…"

"Oh my god, shut up," said Rapunzel, her arm shaking.

A shadow loomed over her. Her smile fell. "You can have this back after class, Miss Corona," said Mrs. Wanda, snapping up the sketchbook with two fingers. "And then we can talk about the current state of your grade." Rapunzel's head sank between her shoulders. The other students hooted.

The three girls cracked their books open for class. Reprieve came five minutes later, when Mrs. Wanda announced, "Okay, class, for the rest of the week we'll be watching the movies based off of these books."

"Oh great, I already know how it ends," said Merida to her friends.

"But beware, this is not a time to catch up on sleep." Mrs. Wanda sent a brief yet pointed look at Rapunzel. "We'll be taking notes as the movies go along and compare them farther with the devices and themes used in the books."

"Mrs. Wanda?" said Anna innocently. "Since this is a distance that's figurative and not literal, shouldn't it be _further_?"

"Thank you, Anna," said Mrs. Wanda flatly. "I knew there was a reason you passed my last test."

Anna giggled self-contentedly. The class got ready to take notes on the movie. "We'll begin with one of the finest theatrical adaptations of classic literature," began Mrs. Wanda, turning off the lights. "Directed with passion and bringing the horror of the story to a new level…"

"Do you think she reads off a script before coming to class?" whispered Anna. A long blow burst from Merida's lips. She smacked Anna on the arm.

"Would you like to join Rapunzel after class, ladies?" asked Mrs. Wanda as she turned on the projector.

"Oh, absolutely not, ma'am," said Anna. "I mean, Mrs. Wanda."

They remained silent for the beginning of the film. Eight minutes after the opening credits, the projector started to blink. "Oh, darn it," said Mrs. Wanda. She hustled over, bringing her pointer to reach the buttons. "What's wrong with it now?"

"You might need to turn it off and on again," said a boy in the front.

Mrs. Wanda took his advice. "There we go…I see the light…"

"Don't go into it!" yelled Merida, and at the instant half the class burst out laughing, the door opened. Anna looked, glad for the distraction.

Her chest tensed. She forgot how to breathe. In the darkness this creature came, stepping in like a dream. Pale arms wrapped around each other for security. The girl's quietness was magnified by the activity of the room, and she stayed waiting, dazed.

Mrs. Wanda turned. "Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"Um," said the girl as Mrs. Wanda came closer. "Mr. Silver wanted me to return this to you." She held out a book.

"Ah yes, I finally get it back." Mrs. Wanda took the book. "Tell him it's about time. You didn't take your time coming here, did you?"

"No, ma'am," said the girl. "I came right here."

Mrs. Wanda hummed impatiently. "If that's all you may go." The girl had her head down, watching the teacher's every move. At her dismissal she took a step back. For the smallest of moments before she went out the door, her eyes rested on Anna.

Anna tucked her hair behind her ear.


	2. Chapter 2

She and Merida loitered in the hall after class. "They better not take too long," said Anna. Her foot tapped in a quick rhythm. "I mean, you know how fast the cafeteria fills up and I hate those lines. And everyone takes the burritos!"

"Oh, please don't tell me you're still going to eat those burritos," said Merida.

"Who wouldn't want to eat those cheesy beans wrapped up in ground beef and a huge flour tortilla?" Merida made a face.

"You know those are packaged, right? Those little armadillo wrappers probably have to be heated up every day before you stuff them down your gob."

"The armadillos are cute! And the burritos only come on Mondays!" Merida held up her hands in defeat. A minute later Rapunzel walked out of the classroom.

"You've been through a war, lass." Merida put a hand on her back. Rapunzel was quieter than ever before, curled into the sketchbook she held across her chest. "Hope she didn't chew you up too bad."

"It's only November and I already have a D," said Rapunzel. Her face turned ashen. "If this keeps up I won't even get into a community college."

"Hey," said Anna. "It's going to be okay. You're a great person."

"I'm not a great student."

"Oh, since when did grades determine everything about whether you're going to college? There's still extracurricular stuff, and the SAT, and a scholarship in painting coming your way."

"What do you have to say about scholarships? Your parents can pay you off to any college you please."

"Doesn't mean mine would," said Merida.

"Hey, we're watching movies in class this week, right?" said Anna. "Use the time to take notes. Say something in class that gets you points for participation. Easy A."

"I guess."

They were interrupted by the grumbles of a sea monster. They all looked at Anna's stomach.

"Way to ruin a heart-to-heart," said Merida.

"Please, Merida," begged Anna. "Burritos."

The Commons was packed. Strict division into cliques and friends prevented daily fights during the lunch hour. Some mingled in peaceful coexistence, sitting at tables next to each other and nodding hellos as an example of teenage maturity. Some antagonized each other—rival gangs were distinctly placed in separate hours. The rest avoided one another, happy for their break in the day.

"Hey Anna!" In the middle of the room someone held up a purple wrapper. Anna stumbled over herself running to it.

"Burrito!" she said in anguished triumph. "Oh, thank you. You're the best, Vanessa." She said it genuinely.

"You're welcome." Vanessa had her lunch partly eaten on a tray. It was almost a little sad to Anna that Vanessa had to settle for a meal that clearly didn't suit her. Vivacious and stunning, Vanessa looked more like she should be bringing in bagged lunches of leftover lobster and filet mignon. She was a model of perfection, with curves and a face that moved in all the right directions. Her deep brown hair shimmered in amazing waves as always. And her eyes had a way of looking right into you in a manner that was almost piercing, but in the next moment they'd be laughing and joking and having a good time.

Anna sat next to Vanessa and opened the burrito. As the taste burst across her mouth her eyes closed in delight.

"Just think of the preservatives that go into it so it doesn't rot after being heated up," said Merida.

"I'm not listening," said Anna before taking another bite.

"I'm just saying, I don't know how someone who lifts as much as you can stand so much of that stuff. It just seems ironic, you know, what with the idea of fitness freaks and a proper diet."

"Oh, so you lift?" asked Vanessa. Anna nodded eagerly and turned to her.

"At least a couple times a month. Usually with Kristoff."

"Kristoff again, huh? I need to meet him sometime."

"You should come bowling with us this Friday! Next semester he's going on a study-away trip. Going to class and building houses for kids in Africa."

"He sounds like a good person." Anna opened her mouth to say more, but Vanessa had moved her focus to Rapunzel. "What's up? You look sad."

"It's the curse of the dragon lady," said Merida. "Bringing her down."

"I'll be all right," mumbled Rapunzel.

"Hey." She looked up immediately. "Don't let her get you down," said Vanessa off-handedly. "She's a bitch. I've heard it from a lot of people." Vanessa had transferred at the beginning of the year. Not one to shirk first impressions, she'd soon established herself as an excellent student, friend, and advisor. Anyone could talk to her. She could talk to anyone. Anna was surprised when Vanessa approached her looking for directions on the third week. She'd called her over in the hall, complimented the natural pale streak in her hair, then asked where the computer lab was for a science project. On the way down Vanessa got her talking, and soon Anna was pouring out all sorts of things her friends had known for years. She seemed to have that effect—Anna had noticed the way people surrounded Vanessa throughout those first three weeks.

Anna had to run back to class with intense apologies to her history teacher. She'd only gone out to use the bathroom. That lunchtime Vanessa met Merida and Rapunzel, and they'd been a group ever since.

"It's just a high school English class," Vanessa went on, bringing Anna back to the moment. "They're not going to look at that in the future unless you're gonna be an English teacher. Are you gonna be an English teacher?"

"No," said Rapunzel.

"Then just don't get an F and you'll be okay." Hearing similar words from two people seemed to loosen Rapunzel's nerves. She went back to drawing.

"We're not building a robot that looks like that," said Merida. "What does it do? Store things?"

"It's creative release!" said Rapunzel. "I've gone through hundreds of ideas and none of them are good enough for you. It wouldn't store things, it would store them and then drop them off. See, it has wheels."

"Hey, I know the judges aren't looking for a robot that'll change the world, but we need to be more impressive," said Merida. She smacked Rapunzel on the elbow. "And eat your food. You're skinny as a rail."

"Fine." Rapunzel pulled a tuna sandwich from her lunch bag.

Vanessa intertwined her fingers and set them under her chin. "Are you _ever_ going to agree on a design?"

"Oh, I keep telling them the same thing," said Anna, leaning over as well. "I'm happy to build whatever they want, but they fight over it all the time. One time I threw them off by suggesting a robot that collected dirt!"

"You said that to throw us off?" said Merida.

"You were totally serious about it for like a week!" said Rapunzel.

"And in that time you were arguing over whether we were advanced enough to build a robot that put out a fire." Anna rolled her eyes whimsically. "Come on. You know the longer we wait the less time we'll have to actually make the thing."

Vanessa giggled. For a minute they ate in silence.

Someone ghosted past. Anna set down her food.

"Give it up, girl," said Merida. Rapunzel followed where their eyes had been, then sighed. Anna reached for her lunch bag.

"I need a napkin." She wiped her mouth and crumpled the napkin next to the burrito. She began to fiddle with her hair.

"No one can talk to her, Anna," said Merida, as if having to explain to a kid. "She's like a huge brick wall. You think people haven't ever tried to ask her out?" Anna rustled in her seat. Vanessa's hands remained under her chin, her eyes shifting across the conversation.

"Maybe she's really shy," Anna offered. "I mean, she has some friends."

"She seems kinda prickly to me," Rapunzel admitted. "Not necessarily stuck-up," she added when the spotlight shifted. "Just…like she wants to be left alone."

"Why would anybody want to be alone?" demanded Anna. "And she has friends, doesn't she?"

"Isn't she dating Jack?" said Vanessa. Anna flinched.

"Jack?" said Rapunzel. "Where would you ever get that idea? He's a freshman and she looks like she's like, twenty-one. I thought she was lost when I first saw her."

"But nobody knows for sure," Vanessa insisted.

"I guess," Rapunzel said slowly, looking at Anna.

Anna stood up. "I'm going to ask her."

"Now?!"

"No, not, not like on a date. But if she wants to sit with us."

"Her friends are right there!" said Merida.

"Well, maybe they can all sit with us." She turned to Vanessa. "That's okay, right?"

"I dunno, Anna," said Vanessa. She watched the redhead chew her lip. "But if you want to try it."

Anna set her sight on the prize, shouldered up, and marched over.

"Oh my god," said a random bystander, mocking her movements.

The girl was moving to a table under the stairs. "Hey, you!" said Anna, and she jilted from her own volume. The girl tensed and turned around.

"Yes?"

The breath sucked back into Anna's mouth. Her shoulders heaved up, almost comically, as she blinked. Once, twice…okay, she was back in control. Still, she couldn't help but take a step back when realizing just how gorgeous this girl was. Even with her face tightened in confusion and suspicion, and the way one arm left the bottom of her lunch tray to move in front of her neck. One blond braid wrapped around her head to tighten into a bun in the back. They both stayed silent, and then for one amazing, desperate moment Anna thought she saw a flicker of something in her eye. Was it happiness? Pleasure? Delight?

The cafeteria had rippled into silence. The girl blinked. Then she cringed at the attention.

"Oh, no, it's okay," said Anna. The girl's eyes darted to her. "I, I was just wondering if you and your friends wanted to sit with my friends at lunch today."

The girl's brow rose very high. Soft lips opened for a tiny moment. Then they closed, and opened again to say quickly, "Um, no. No thank you. I…I already have a place to sit."

She went to her friends, head down. They welcomed her with soothing tones. Her body almost appeared to shrink in size as it closed into itself. A brown-haired boy on the other end of the table looked at Anna with the subtlest of frowns.

Anna retreated with her head down too, praying she wasn't going fast enough to further broadcast her mortification. She made it to the table, took a huge bite of her burrito, and slammed her head down without chewing. A few seconds later cafeteria life went back to normal.

"You tried," said Rapunzel.

Merida leaned over to look at her next robot proposal. Anna looked through the gap between Vanessa and the table. Beneath the stairway she thought she saw the blond glance at her before opening her milk.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: After a huge writing binge, the next update is here. Thanks for your patience. I do wonder if I've fixed all those typos.**_

**WARNING: _This update contains a segment with the student-teacher relationship. It's at the end, after the second line break._**

**_On another note, while proofreading I could not help but go on Google to find out, "Why are bowling shoes so ugly?"_**

**EDIT 6/26:_ Added a line break, made sentence changes, and fixed typos._**

* * *

On Friday Rapunzel walked into the courtyard covered in paint. The others were already there, kicking a hackeysack by one of the brick ledges beside a set of stairs.

"Have you guys been tossing that thing around the entire time I've been in art club?"

"Yes," said Merida, eyes fixed on the knitted black ball she bounced on her ankle.

"I was in there for an hour!"

"What were we supposed to do?" said Anna. "Homework?"

Vanessa sat on the ledge with a notebook in her lap. Slowly and meticulously she highlighted passages from her history class. Rapunzel sat down next to her. "How do you write so much in a day? I can barely keep up to get half a page."

"It's all a matter of filtering out the important information and taking shorter notes," Vanessa explained. "It gives you more time to listen so you can keep writing."

"Ha!" said Merida, making them look up. The hackeysack had fumbled on Anna's foot before plopping heavily on the ground. Anna groaned and picked it up. "I win again. Man, just one of these days I'd like to see a fight in you."

"Oh, you're gonna get a fight all right," Anna said. "My average knocks everyone else out of the league. Well, everyone except Kristoff."

"And just who exactly do you usually bowl with?"

Anna paused. "Kristoff." She protested at Merida's smirk. "Hey, I've looked at the screens of people around us. I beat them all the time. Even when they get drunk, and drunk bowlers are better than sober ones for some reason."

"Save your breath," said Merida. "I'm gonna clean your clock this afternoon. I might even give Blondie a run for his money."

Anna looked at her smugly while tossing the hackeysack in the air. "This _blondie_ is a two-hundred-pound weightlifter with a right toss that hits a strike in a second. _And_ his family's been taking him bowling since he was, like, six." The hackeysack would go up for a moment, then fall back into her palm.

Vanessa leaned on her hands and chuckled. "So do you get as unrealistically competitive about sports?" she asked Rapunzel.

"Not really, unless I'm winning."

Anna was still bragging. "And then after we're done wiping your averages, we're going to count them up and find we scored double."

"Even after you're exhausted from a game of fetch?" said Merida.

Anna stopped tossing the hackeysack. "What?"

Merida grabbed it and flung it hard. It flew over the stairs, arcing out of sight and hitting some indiscernible spot by the football field.

Merida looked at Anna just as smugly. "Go get it."

* * *

The bus dropped them off two blocks from the bowling alley. Along the way they scoped out the plaza for unusual instances.

"Is that guy being mugged?" said Rapunzel. "No...wait. He just dropped his phone."

"Ugh, PDA at nine-o-clock," said Merida. She called out. "Hey! Get a room, you face-sucking nitwits!"

The boy receiving her taunt responded with a simple raised finger; the girl, however, put her hands on his chest and pulled away, looking at Merida with flustered panic. Her boyfriend shot the group a dark look, then put an arm around his lover and led her down the block, whispering assurances in her ear.

"What are they, like, twelve?" said Rapunzel.

"Ah, seventh grade," said Vanessa, crossing her arms in wistful remembrance. "A time where a young man's fancy turns to love, and they make out in public because they're too stupid to see it's nothing more than erupting hormones."

They all laughed. Their destination was set in a plaza that thrummed with activity, never still or silent except when the sun was out. It was especially popular among the students of the nearby middle school, the peak of their presence being the exact day and time of the group's appearance.

"Ten bucks that half the kids swarming the coffee shop don't really like the coffee," said Merida.

"Oh, god no!" said Anna. "They just do it to look like grownups. I went through that stage myself."

"I knew you always hated that stuff," said Merida.

"Daily waste of two forty-nine. Hey, do you think we could get a pizza after this? I'm starving."

"Not even the almighty burrito could quench her appetite," said Merida gravely.

"I haven't eaten in four hours! And you're the one who made me get the hackeysack."

"It's good exercise." Any retort Anna would have made was drowned out when Rapunzel opened a door. A sudden warm air blew in their faces, bringing with it the lingering scent of alcohol. On the left, low lighting emphasized the colorful flashes of a built-in arcade. People were moving in and out of it, making their way to the twenty-four polished lanes waiting to be used. The solid smack of a ball hitting pins soothed the players every few seconds—or sometimes not, as one boy began cursing loudly when his roll left two pins standing as far apart as possible. "That guy's gonna make an amazing field goal," Anna said in Vanessa's ear so she could hear. The farther they walked in the more they noticed the thin leathery smell unique to bowling alleys.

"All right, let's put the fashion police on the lookout," said Rapunzel once they reached the front counter. "Size six, please." The woman working seemed to purposely pick out the ugliest sneakers in the cupboard.

"Neon pink with yellow laces," Anna commented as Rapunzel took her shoes. "Are people blind when they make these?"

"Hey, last time they gave you red-and-lilac checkers," said someone behind her.

"Kristoff!" They hugged. "Oh. Vanessa, this is Kristoff. He's my best friend."

"You've said." Vanessa came forward smoothly, her face drooping into a lazy smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Kristoff said, returning the handshake.

Rapunzel and Merida nodded hellos. The woman behind the counter gave Rapunzel a deadpan stare as she waited for the brunette to finish going through her wallet. "There we go," Rapunzel finally said, pulling out the payment. "Eight-fifty. Man, I really wish I could get a credit card."

"It's hard not to let the power get to you," said Merida. She chose to pay in cash too.

"I'll pay for yours," Kristoff told Anna when he saw what little was left in her wallet.

"Kristoff, no, it's fine," said Anna, stepping forward. "I can get more from my bank account."

She used her credit card. "Your lanes are three and four on the very end," said the woman when Vanessa paid, and they went over.

"So how are we dividing up the teams?" Kristoff asked as he approached their computer.

"You and Anna are by yourselves," said Merida. "She thinks it's a fair fight." Kristoff and Anna locked eyes.

"I don't know, Anna," said Kristoff. "It might be a bit cruel to expect them to beat both of us."

"That's granting they'd even touch us," said Anna, crossing her arms.

"Oh, quit your boasting and get to proving your words are worth listening to." Merida leaned over Kristoff to enter her name.

"'MtheBrave?'" repeated Vanessa.

"It's always more fun using a nickname," said Rapunzel. After a click the lane's right overhanging screen refreshed to show _Painter _as the second user. "So what's your bowling pseudonym, Vanessa?" Everyone turned to her. The echoes of falling pins filled the silence as she looked at them.

She put her hands on her hips. "Master V," she said grandly.

"You got it." Rapunzel punched in the keys. "Okay, now you two showoffs."

_Gerda_ and_ RDeer Boy_ appeared on the left screen. "It's my middle name," Anna explained when Vanessa raised an eyebrow at the ordinary moniker. "Kristoff, let's look for a thirteen-pounder."

Vanessa asked him questions over the cacophony while they bowled. He went to school on the other end of town and performed heavy labor at his family's zoo during the weekends. For fun he played video games on the couch or tossed around a football—both English and American varieties. Vanessa started to say something about his father, but Kristoff looked up at the screen and said, "Okay, Gerda, your turn."

Anna hit a spare. "Oh!" Her arms flung down in a brazen display. "That's over a hundred from the both of us _six turns into the game._"

"This is my warmup game," said Merida with a grim look down the lane. "Next one I'll catch up before you can even blink."

She sent the ball rolling. It sped clear down to hit the middle pin just to its right. It buckled and the other nine followed suit. "Not bad," said Vanessa as Rapunzel shuffled forward.

"One of these days I'm gonna manage more than an eight-pounder," she said before throwing her ball as hard as she could. It sheared three pins on the left.

"Your arm should be in the direction you want the ball to go when you let go of it," said Kristoff once the pinsetter retrieved the remaining targets.

"Oh, give away all the secrets," said Anna, but she smiled when Rapunzel hit five more.

A squealing blur tore down the steps beside them. A dozen six-year-olds gathered around the first two lanes, stomping excitedly. "Hey look, it's a birthday party," observed Merida when two middle-aged women went to join the girls.

"Okay, okay, let's get everything set up." A skinny girl with short blond hair sticking up hurried over to their computer. "All right, you first of course, since you're the birthday girl, and yes, you next Amanda…huh. Should I just put everyone in alphabetical order?"

"Everybody get in a line," said one of the moms, and the girls filed quickly. "Let's get your ball, Amanda," the mom continued, leading her over to the racks.

"Oh man," Anna realized. "Birthdays mean food. And I'm _so _hungry. Hang on, I'll get us something." She dashed to the restaurant. On the way back she bumped into someone. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

"No, it's all right." The boy looked at her. "Hey, you go to my school, don't you?"

Anna recognized the brown hair, the inquiring expression. "Oh god." Her hands ran down her cheeks. "I wasn't trying to insult you guys. I was just trying to be friendly."

"No, we understand." The boy was dressed in jeans and a loose-fitting sweatshirt. He moved his arms up in a gesture towards Anna. "Actually, we found it kind of funny. It's not every day someone approaches The Kids Under the Stairs."

"Jack!" The skinny girl was by his side. "Your sister totally wants you to join the team. They have your ball picked out and everything. It's adorable." Her movements were as wiry as her body. She noticed Anna. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi." Anna's eyes trailed down a long tank top with wide straps, its fabric interchanging hues of red and green. It draped over a blue skirt. The girl took Jack's hand. "They're all waiting for you. Oh, and your friends too," she added to Anna. They rushed to the lanes.

"It's okay, guys," Anna said dramatically when she arrived. "The food is coming, and verdict says The Kids Under the Stairs weren't offended in the cafeteria today."

"That was your own doing, missy," said Merida, dumping Anna's ball in her hands.

Anna righted herself and they kept playing. Partway through the second game, a waitress came by with a large basket of fries. "Finally!" said Anna as the basket was placed on their counter. "And hurry up with my burger," she told the waitress as she reached for the soda pitcher. "I could eat a horse right now." The waitress raised an eyebrow and went back to the restaurant. A few minutes later she returned with a steaming burger stacked high. "Oh good, extra pickles, great." The waitress turned away without a word.

"I heard the waiters spit in your food here if you don't say thank you," said Kristoff, and the contents of the first bite spewed across the counter. Anna grabbed a fistful of napkins and rubbed them furiously on her tongue.

"That's lovely," said Merida as Rapunzel took the rest of the napkins to clean up the mess.

"I can't believe they would spit in my food!" Anna poured herself more soda and gulped it down. The carbonation burned her throat and her eyes welled up. "Is that even legal?"

"My uncle worked in a restaurant a couple years back," said Jack as he passed by. "He said the waiters did way worse things to the people who were rude to them."

"Quick, let's go to the supermarket to buy her some mouthwash," Rapunzel told Merida as Anna downed another cup of soda.

Jack and his friend headed toward the arcade. Anna wiped her tongue once more for good measure, then returned to the lanes.

Vanessa wandered off after taking her next turn. She came back a few minutes later with a hot dog. "I sweet-talked that waitress, hon," she said, setting her food next to Anna's. "Turns out she's always wanted a restaurant of her own, but has to settle for here in the meantime. I think she's usually really nice," she said, casting her gaze to her subject smiling warmly as she delivered a pizza to the birthday party. "It's just the rude customers who get to her sometimes. But she didn't spit in your food," she assured Anna.

"I was never really worried," said Anna to the headshakes and eye rolls of her friends.

They finished their game. "Want to go to the arcade for a bit before starting the next one?" asked Merida. "I need to be out of here by seven."

"Me too," said Rapunzel. "That's an hour and a half from now."

"Sounds good to me," said Vanessa.

The arcade was packed and expansive. "I think they keep clocks out of here to give it the feel of a real casino," said Kristoff as they got change from a machine. "Getting you to lose track of time and spend a lot of money."

"I think the games being rigged do a better job with that, really," said Merida.

Anna waited for Vanessa to get her change. When Vanessa moved out of the way, she fed a five-dollar bill to the machine. "Here, take some of mine," Anna said, putting coins in Rapunzel's hand.

"I'm fine, really."

"No, you should be able to play as much as the rest of us." Rapunzel submitted, then gave a lopsided grin and went to a pinball machine. The rest split up.

"So, how long have you known Vanessa?" Kristoff asked Anna a few minutes later when they reached a two-player FPS.

"I already told you, the beginning of the year," said Anna.

They shouldered the plastic guns. "And she's just as much a part of the group as the rest of us?"

"Why wouldn't she be?"

"I just get a weird vibe from her," said Kristoff. "Like she's a little too curious."

"Oh please," said Anna, hitting the Start button. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to get to know someone."

The world washed away into a battle against extraterrestrial insects. "Pick up the grenades," said Kristoff after a moment of concentration. "I'm just saying, maybe it's worth being more discreet about what you say to her. Have you told her about your personal life?"

"Well, not a lot," answered Anna after shooting down a metal door. A swarm overtook them. "A bit about my parents, but only superficial things." A tiny pinprick curled into the back of her head. She sprayed pixelated bullets into the oncoming bugs. "If I tell her much of anything it's more about things happening at school." The pinprick multiplied and dug in deeper. Her shoulders suddenly felt exposed. "Hang on, get out. I'm gonna set off a grenade in here." They both took damage, but Anna's plan cleared the room. They picked up boxes of ammo and advanced.

A minute into the second boss their health ran down to zero. "I think that's longer than we've ever gotten," said Kristoff. The timer on the screen began counting down from thirty. "Want to stay another round?"

"I guess," said Anna, putting another two quarters into the slot.

After their next loss they moved on. Rapunzel was standing by a crane machine, perplexed at the sight before her. The skinny girl in green was leaning over Jack to watch him play. Jack had somehow conquered the claw's unfairly weak grip to win four prizes. "This one's for you," he said, putting a smiling tooth in the skinny girl's hands. She giggled and hugged him.

"I don't get it," said Rapunzel when Anna and Kristoff came closer. "All I have is this tiny bean in a sombrero, and _that_ machine lets you play until you win_._"

"It could have been worse, Rapunzel," said Anna, opening her backpack to hold up a stuffed replica of a pineapple.

Jack and the girl started moving out of the arcade. Another girl half their height came up. "Come on, Jack!" she said, tugging his sleeve. "It's your turn."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Jack pulled a small brown animal from his sweatshirt pocket. "But I couldn't leave the arcade without getting an extra present for my favorite little sister."

"It looks like Bunny!" she said.

"I have a rabbit," Jack told the others.

"Hey Rapunzel!" Merida marched our of the arcade's depths with purpose. "I formally challenge you to a race in the International Swampolympics."

"Merida, you _always_ win at that game," said Rapunzel as she was dragged off.

"Hey now," said Vanessa with her arms out in mock astonishment. "Who said you could get together without me?" She rejoined the two parties. After a moment of analysis she said, "So I take it you're dating?"

"Oh, yeah," said the girl holding the tooth. She put her arms around Jack. "We knew each other back in middle school, but we were just friends then, you know? And then over the last summer he asked me out."

"Okay, I think our moms are going to burst if we don't resume the game." Jack linked arms with his girlfriend and took his sister by the hand. "We'll see you later, probably."

"You know, that's actually kind of funny," Vanessa called when they were almost to the edge of the arcade. "There's this rumor going around that you're going out with that quiet girl with the braid."

"Elsa?" Jack waved his hand. "No one's dating her. We're friends though."

The trio vanished around a corner. For a moment no one spoke.

Vanessa broke the silence. "Well, I guess that lets you know one thing," She said it airily, shaking her hair.

"What's that?" said Kristoff.

Vanessa looked Anna dead in the eye. "Elsa's on the market."

* * *

Rapunzel and Merida deleted their names from the computer and packed up to go. They hadn't won any of their four games against Kristoff and Anna, though on the latter half they came close. Twilight had long passed outside, sending them into a black landscape shrouded in fog.

"It's almost like a ghost town," said Rapunzel as the last OPEN sign went out. "When the middle schoolers leave for home, and the spirits come out to play…"

The wind blew lightly on their way up the road. A few minutes later a bus came out from the gloom. "See you next week," Merida said as Rapunzel fumbled in her purse for her fare.

She waved down the driver's glance. With a steamy hiss the bus's front wheel rose back in level with the others. The door closed and the bus drove off. Merida was alone.

She waited a bit longer, then carefully put her hoodie over her head. Shifting into an alley, she slipped her cell phone from its place in her messenger bag. The screen's glow dimmed under her right hand.

Merida unlocked the phone and went to her contacts. The down button clicked until the highlighter rested on a number at the bottom. It was not tagged with a name. Merida lowered her right hand and stared at it.

She pushed Call. The receiver went to her ear, and it picked up after the second ring. Her teeth ground on the inside of her lip.

"Hello?"

The voice was languid and sultry. "It's me," Merida responded. "I'm at the plaza."

After a peek around the corner she exited the alley. One hand went in the pocket of her hoodie and the other gripped the strap of her bag. She moved her head under a tree planted on the sidewalk, its leaves rustling softly. Her ankles were getting hard to see in the fog. On her right, a fancy restaurant roared with a good time.

She waited on a corner. The streetlight towering above her flickered dimly.

A car purred on the curb. "Over here, dear," came a voice from the open window, and Merida hesitated before going in.

They did not say much on the way to the theatre. Some nights were like that; others, Merida could listen for hours as the woman beside her engaged them in a long conversation. The road now was getting narrower and emptier. Merida's bag was seated between her legs on the floor, its strap still in her hand. She tried not to look out the window, in case someone could see her. Car rides after dark tended to be the tensest times for her. Though the thrill was fun she felt it disquieting, and even on talkative nights there would arise some point where the air around her throat began to weigh on her.

"So, what movie are we going to see?"

Her voice cut loudly through the muteness inside the car. It sounded confident enough, she thought.

The driver turned down a row of trees. "Nothing that'll ask you to prove your age, dear."

They entered a drive-in theatre on the town's outskirts. Merida turned away as the driver paid for their tickets. "There we go," she said in a satisfied tone as she shut off the ignition in the middle of the car park. "And it looks like it's a popular show." More vehicles stood scattered throughout the dark gravel road, some teetering though they were parked. Merida pulled down the tip of her hood and shuffled lower in her seat.

"The usual, then?" asked her history teacher. "Popcorn, cotton candy, and a medium Sprite?"

"Yes, ma'am," Merida muttered.

It was always a bit strange, having them meet away from the familiarity of the school. Merida would be given time to adjust, then they'd get on to other things. It led to her not being able to help glancing at glass every now and then, even during her second class, as if expecting someone spying on her. She filed through her wallet, and her fingers rested on her state ID.

"Oh, you don't have to pay me back," said her teacher as she opened the door. "That's what my salary is for!" She threw her head back in a sharp, high laugh. Merida laughed too, and felt a drop in her stomach.

She kept the bag of popcorn in her lap. It would have been difficult to tell someone what the movie was about, if anyone had known she went to one at all. Something about a boy and a girl and a feminine father, and when a car plunged into the ocean Merida's vision blurred. She became aware cotton candy was sticking to her lips.

She was barely breathing. The teacher looked over, and with a smile leaned over to clean Merida with her mouth. As their eyes closed Merida frowned, but then she felt long silken fingers moving down her shirt. They reached an oily sack of paper. It was flicked over. Popcorn spilled on the floor. Merida shook kernels off her messenger bag, and as she did so, a hand slipped under her jeans.

Wasn't she a privileged girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Later Kristoff drove Vanessa and Anna home. As they piled into his beat-up-as-fuck '57 Ford Anna remained unusually silent. They didn't question her on it; perhaps it was attributed to evening exhaustion.

When she slipped out of the car's back door and into her dark and quiet home the pinpricks came back. She took off her shoes and carried them down the narrow hall. Up the stairs, and then she looked to the left. Her parents' bedroom door was shut, as always by this time, the people inside lost in sleep after a long day. It was a sight she'd grown used to, yet a heavy dread slid down her back. There was something not quite right about lying to her best friend, and tentatively she thought back to what had been revealed over the past couple months. In reality she really did tell Vanessa things about her parents, little things like how they were so busy they rarely spent time with her. That they seemed to keep secrets from her. These were things Kristoff picked up quickly, but did not address until Anna was ready.

Vanessa, on the other hand, was eager for information. And Anna gave it to her, even when she felt herself rambling on and on with a nervous shift as she wondered how much was too much to divulge. Vanessa just made it easy to talk. Was that really a bad thing? Anna wondered while going to her own room. Vanessa always had advice and a kind word when people talked about themselves. She was so interested in others. She'd make a good therapist.

Anna closed the door quietly and changed into her pajamas. Her room was large and looming, every nook filled with posters, toys, and games. She kicked a stray camisole out of the way, the hanger getting caught on her foot before being flung next to the TV. She tripped over a tiny knight and swore. It went back with its horse on the dresser.

Anna crawled into bed and sat crisscross under the covers, reaching for her remote to surf the TV. A few seconds later she turned it off. To ignore the silence she placed her stuffed snowman in her lap.

She still felt nothing. She cuddled the snowman and went to sleep.

* * *

On Sunday they met up in Anna's garage.

"I don't see the point in getting into all these inventor getups," said Merida, gesturing to their work shirts and pants. "We've never gotten more than ten minutes on a robot before finding some way to argue about it."

"It's official," said Anna. "And preparatory." She snapped a pair of goggles over her face. "Gets our creative juices flowing."

"You look like a geek," said Merida.

Rapunzel was sitting on the wooden bench where the family used their power tools. The strap on her goggles hung around her neck, jiggling slightly as she drew in her sketchbook. "Okay," she said, jumping down. "I think I've made a breakthrough. We can make a robot"—she showed them the book—"that programs up to three simple commands and executes them in proper order."

"I agree," said Kristoff immediately. "You guys should make that. Can't go wrong with it."

"Wait," said Anna. "What should the commands be?"

Everyone groaned. "Okay, okay, forget I said it!" said Anna. "Jeez. Just trying to get a head start on things."

"No, you're right," said Rapunzel. "We should probably think of five, for different combinations."

"You sure that's not too advanced?" asked Kristoff.

"Sure. We just have to make them really direct. Like, spin in a circle!" They looked to the floor. A pile of metal lay throughout the garage.

Anna picked up a screwdriver. "A robot that followed commands does sound fun," she mused. "Imagine if we made them work really smoothly. Why, this bot could be systematic."

"Hydromatic," said Rapunzel.

"_Ultra_matic."

"Something tells me you won't pick up any keepers by building a robot in the garage," interrupted Merida. "Spinning in a circle is good. How about turn around?"

"Go forward and backward," suggested Kristoff.

"Accelerate really fast," said Anna.

"Raise on its back wheels," finished Rapunzel.

"Okay, let's get cracking." Anna reached for a book on programming that had been left on the bench.

"I think you might want to build its body first," said Kristoff.

An hour later they were on the floor. "_Ugh_," said Merida. She was on her back, arms spread out. "I can't believe we ran out of screws."

"No, that's good!" said Anna. "That means we're making progress."

"But in terms of aesthetics, it's not good," said Rapunzel. She scooted around the robot, closing an eye as she analyzed its components. "The screws show up too much against the plastic we're going to use to cover it. And we've used so many in the first place—the judges are gonna take note of that, and design is one of the things they're looking for in the winning robot. And some of the screws aren't put in straight."

"I have an idea," said Merida. "Let's have Rapunzel paint a robot and we can turn it in."

Anna volunteered a run to the hardware store, leaving Kristoff to keep the peace. She strapped on her bike helmet and began the ride down.

The handlebar ribbons sailed until she reached the city. She banked at a corner and saw someone moving up the block. "Oh great," Anna muttered, dismounting her bike and walking it along the road. "Could anyone be slower?"

The person ahead stopped—_Oh god, _thought Anna—and as they turned, a bolt of lightning struck her solid to the spot.

_Oh GOD._

Elsa had looked over plainly, the mildest hint of curiosity playing on her face. Then the trim of her coat swayed as she turned all the way around.

"Oh please, don't be offended," said Anna. The other girl said nothing, her eyebrows rising again as Anna went on. "I was thinking out loud. I'm just impatient. And there's a lot that needs to be done, and the robot, you know, they wanted me to get to the store and…wait, hang on."

"It's all right," said Elsa, and Anna paused.

"Wait. It is?"

"Yes. Normally there isn't anyone else on the road here Sundays." Elsa moved over and motioned for Anna to walk beside her.

"Oh! Well, okay." Anna hurried the bike over, head down as Elsa watched. When they were side by side they kept walking.

"So," said Elsa. "Are you entering the robotics competition too?"

"What? Oh, yeah," said Anna, remembering it was a tournament all across the state. "We haven't really picked out a design, but we're getting there. Ours is going to follow commands. Well, we think so. We keep changing ideas. Are you in the competition?"

"No, but two of my friends are. They're going really over the top." Elsa put a hand on her chest. "One of them has a father who's an inventor, and they're all having a lot of fun with it. Maybe too much fun." She giggled.

She was wearing a blue winter coat, suede fitting snugly over her body. Its brass buttons were attached neatly and in order. Anna noticed she didn't have a scarf.

"Don't you worry about getting sick?" She pointed to Elsa's neck.

"No," said Elsa. "I don't really get many colds."

Anna had thrown on a designer jacket before going out the door. It had gone out of style two years ago, but was good to have around for the days she got down in the dirt. She brushed a strand of hair out of her eye. "I'm just going to the hardware store," she said, tucking the hair behind her ear. "Gotta get stuff for that robot. Unless that inventor father doesn't mind getting rid of a few spare parts." She wiped a hand on her jeans.

"I was headed to the park," said Elsa.

They stopped at the store. Anna settled her bike in the racks, but after searching through her purse realized she'd left its security chain at home. "Oh great. Do you think they'd be mad if I walked in with this?"

"It's okay," said Elsa. "I'll watch it."

"You will?" Elsa nodded. Anna blinked stupidly, then broke out into a grin. "Great! Thanks!" Elsa smiled warmly and put her fingers on the handlebars. Anna walked into the store, thinking of a thousand things to say when she came back out.

* * *

"So you just ran into her."

Rapunzel had finished unscrewing the robot when Anna returned with a bag in the bike basket and a look of wonder on her face. They were all now scattered around the garage, listening to the redhead recount her tale.

"Yeah! And I said something about her being slow, and then she turned, and I was gonna freak out but then she invited me to walk with her."

"And then what did you do?" continued Merida.

"We walked together to the store. And she offered to watch my bike, because I forgot the safety." Kristoff lifted it from his place on the workbench. "And when I came out she'd gotten tired so she was sitting on the seat. It was so cute."

"When I did that you yelled at me," said Rapunzel.

"The bike was new! I've had it for several months now, this is different." Merida bumped the bike with her foot. Anna jerked it forward, giving her a look. "And anyway, it turns out her friends are in the competition too. But I didn't really think about it, because I was so focused on Elsa! I thought I'd be completely terrified of her, but she's so human!"

"No!" said Rapunzel.

"Doesn't her friend have that dad who won an award for making a self-cleaning litter box? This is gonna be some real competition." Merida stood up, pulling her goggles over her eyes. They hit skin with a loud thwack. "We have everything we need, yeah? Now's about time to start remodeling that little widget of ours."

"Little widget. I like that," said Rapunzel as Kristoff took the hardware out of the basket.

* * *

Elsa went to her room and closed the door. She'd muttered a polite hello to one of her parents' guests; after a small curtsy she'd moved up the stairs. Not too quickly, she didn't want to give off the impression she disapproved. That would be ironic given the situation she was currently in.

Now, inside her personal space, she felt more free. Her foot tapped a couple times before she went to her bed and sat on the duvet. She curled her fingers under the mattress and lifted, shimmying back and grabbing one arm under to search for something. She felt leather and brought it out. In her childhood she'd kept a secret diary—every little girl was entitled to one, right?—and the bright blue notebook appeared much smaller than in memories past.

She lifted the pink elastic band and slid it off the book. Then, with a little bit of hesitation, she opened it. A smile curved on her lips as she winced at the entries. Her handwriting had been so big then! Loopy, and drooping down the page. And she didn't think spending all that time on the drawings was worth it. She leafed through the pages, watching the writing get neater and the pictures grow scarcer. Funny, some of the things she worried about then.

She stopped near the end of the book. The smile faded. Almost unconsciously she traced up to the date on the page. This was when she was eight years old.

She read it, leaning in with more intent. The entry was about a youth group, and the people there were telling her she should kiss the boy at the end of the room…

Elsa closed the diary. She suddenly felt very faint.


End file.
